Ruben Sondjaja and Dylan Perry have advanced to the Sweet 16 match play rounds, while West Australian Min Woo Lee has an anxious night ahead of him after a dramatic final day of stroke play at the Western Amateur in Glencoe, Illinois.
Unpredictable weather created havoc on the 36-hole marathon with a two-hour storm delay forcing competitors back to the clubhouse early in the afternoon. Comnpetitors reported officials were considering shortening the event to 54 holes, but play resumed and the final round was eventually completed as darkness fell.
Sondjaja, who has played impressive golf all week, looked to have the medallist’s trophy in his keeping for most of the afternoon however a disastrous quadruple bogey on the treacherous final hole saw him tumble out of the lead and finish in a tie for third at 11 under par. Although dissapointed, the 22 year old is optimistic about his chances in the match play.
"It was a tough test today," Sondjaja said."I played myself into position to win and that's all I can ask for."
"It's a clean slate tomorrow and I will give it my best crack," he said.
After posting a disappointing one-over par 72 in the morning round, Aberdeen’s Dylan Perry clawed his way back into the final 16 with a fighting 68 in the afternoon round to finish tied for 9th place.
Perry was pretty happy with his play after the marathon final day, in particular, his final-round back nine: “I knew I had to dig deep on the back. I birdied 11, 12, and 13 coming home. I played pretty solidly.”
Western Australian Min Woo Lee faces a restless night after finishing in a tie for 14th spot, with four players having to return to the course at 7am Chicago time for a four-for-three playoff for the final spots in the match play rounds. Lee had his chances, but succumbed to the devilishly tough final hole, carding a bogey five.
“It’s the tightest hole in golf,” Lee said.
Melburnian Karl Vilips, Queensland’s Charlie Dann and St Michael’s Travis Smyth had little to smile about on the final day as all failed to progress to the last 16.
Vilips, despite his last-round 68, couldn’t make amends after carding 44 on the back nine of his third round. The 15-year-old eventually finished in a very commendable 20th place in one of the world's top amateur events.
Smyth posted a matching pair of 70s to finish in 28th place, while Dann had an up-and-down day with rounds of 73 and 71 to finish in a tie for 41st.